The ambiguity regarding the agent of hesed in Naomi’s blessing in Ru 2,20 has been the focus of interest for commentators, linguists, and translators. For a better resolution of the ambiguity, this article examines the syntactic structure of the sentence, seeks a proper understanding of the significance of «hesed to the dead», and sets the blessing in the context of the whole narrative. The findings of our analysis support the argument that it is Boaz who, in Naomi’s words, performed hesed to the living and dead members of her family.

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006_kim_589-601 13/02/15 12:50 Pagina 597
THE AGENT OF ḤESED IN NAOMI’S BLESSING (RUTH 2,20) 597
falls short of the concept of ḥesed. Allowing Ruth to glean among the
sheaves, leaving extra for her, inviting her to share his meal, and instruc-
tions to his servants in her favor go beyond what the law requires of him.
Even Campbell, who is on the side of “YHWH”, views Boaz’s earlier deeds
as acts of ḥesed 33.
What the expression “ḥesed for the dead” refers to cannot be deter-
mined on the basis of the present form of the story. In the preceding
episodes, neither Boaz nor YHWH are reported to have done anything to
the dead during their lifetime or after their death. Morris explains this by
resorting to the concept of “a strong sense of family” 34. That is, Boaz’s
actions performed in favor of Ruth and Naomi can also be interpreted as
ḥesed for the dead members of the family. According to Glueck, Naomi’s
blessing has been triggered by Boaz’s honoring his deceased kinsmen and
fulfilling his obligations by his special kindness to Ruth 35. However, ḥesed
for Ruth and Naomi in itself can hardly be identified with ḥesed for the
dead. Rather, by mentioning “the dead”, Naomi anticipates the future de-
velopment of the narrative. The term ḥesed looks forward to the events
that will lead to the marriage of Ruth and Boaz 36. Joüon expresses Naomi’s
anticipation when he writes, “Il s’agit donc de Jéhovah qui, par Booz il est
vrai, montre sa bonté envers Noémi et Ruth en subvenant à leurs besoins;
sa bonté envers les morts, car Booz étant un goël, Noémi espère et prévoit
qu’il épousera Ruth et suscitera ainsi une postérité à son mari défunt” 37.
It is also to be noted that there is no other place in the Hebrew Bible
where “the ḥesed of God is mentioned in reference to the dead” 38. YHWH
exercising (or abandoning) his ḥesed for the dead is a concept alien to the
ancient Israelite religion, according to which the realm of death was the
level of the world “from which YHWH was absent and from where he
could usually not be addressed” 39. Since YHWH ruled only the realm of
the living, the dead could not have any relationship with YHWH. According
33
CAMPBELL, Ruth, 106.
34
L. MORRIS, Ruth. An Introduction and Commentary (TOTC; Leicester
– Downers Grove, IL 1968) 280.
35
GLUECK, Ḥesed, 42.
36
HUBBARD, Ruth, 187.
37
JOÜON, Ruth, 63-64.
38
GLUECK, Ḥesed, 41.
39
Z. ZEVIT, The Religion of Ancient Israel. A Synthesis of Parallactic Ap-
proaches (London – New York 2001) 664. On the contrary, Cohen suggests
that Ruth 2,20 could function as the sole evidence for such a concept, adduc-
ing the rabbinic tradition according to which “God buried the dead” (b. Sotah
14a). See COHEN, “Ḥesed”, 20, 29. However, such an interpretation goes far
beyond what the text means.